Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) Upgraded at Barclays

Barclays upgraded shares of Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Barclays currently has $210.00 price target on the oil and natural gas company’s stock, down from their previous price target of $216.00.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Diamondback Energy from $245.00 to $237.00 and set a positive rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Diamondback Energy in a research note on Monday, September 16th. They set a hold rating and a $185.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Diamondback Energy from $235.00 to $209.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Diamondback Energy from $247.00 to $223.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Diamondback Energy from $230.00 to $219.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $209.50.

Diamondback Energy Stock Up 3.4 %

Shares of FANG opened at $194.61 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $34.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.97, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.89. Diamondback Energy has a one year low of $143.08 and a one year high of $214.50. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $187.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $195.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 3.66 and a quick ratio of 3.64.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The oil and natural gas company reported $4.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.51 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. Diamondback Energy had a return on equity of 19.54% and a net margin of 37.51%. The business’s revenue was up 29.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.68 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Diamondback Energy will post 18.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Diamondback Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a None dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $2.34 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is a boost from Diamondback Energy’s previous None dividend of $2.26. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. Diamondback Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.29%.

Insider Activity

In other Diamondback Energy news, major shareholder Lyndal Greth sold 13,212,830 shares of Diamondback Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.11, for a total transaction of $2,313,698,661.30. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,037,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $181,732,485.09. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Diamondback Energy

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Founders Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 404.0% in the 1st quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 126 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. First Community Trust NA acquired a new position in shares of Diamondback Energy in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Diamondback Energy by 67.1% during the 2nd quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 137 shares of the oil and natural gas company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Logan Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Diamondback Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Diamondback Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors own 90.01% of the company’s stock.

About Diamondback Energy

Diamondback Energy, Inc, an independent oil and natural gas company, acquires, develops, explores, and exploits unconventional, onshore oil and natural gas reserves in the Permian Basin in West Texas. It focuses on the development of the Spraberry and Wolfcamp formations of the Midland basin; and the Wolfcamp and Bone Spring formations of the Delaware basin, which are part of the Permian Basin in West Texas and New Mexico.